Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 九尾龟, Nine-Tailed Turtle
Category: Turtle
The Myth
The Jiǔwěi Guī is a supernatural turtle from Chinese folklore, described as being over one chi in diameter and possessing nine tails.
According to a tale recorded by Lu Can in the Gengbian, a man named Wang, known as the Butcher, and his son encountered a fisherman carrying a huge turtle. They bought it and placed it beneath a pillar, intending to cook it into soup. A merchant from Jiangxi recognised the creature as a sacred Nine-Tailed Turtle and offered to buy it. To prove its identity, he stepped on its shell, revealing four small tails on each side in addition to its main tail.
Wang refused to sell the turtle, and he and his son cooked and ate it. That night, a great flood surged inland from the sea, covering the land with water three feet deep. When the waters receded, the merchant visited Wang’s home and found only their clothes and bedding. The father and son had disappeared. People believed that the spirits of the underwater realm had taken them away and killed them.
Sources
“九尾龟 (Nine-Tailed Turtle).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B9%9D%E5%B0%BE%E9%BE%9C